Donor Conceived Services

Why are we involved?

Each year, approximately 50,000 women in the United States
undergo a medical procedure to place the living cells of a
foreign donor inside their body. These cells carry with them the
potential to transmit infectious disease, cystic fibrosis,
muscular dystrophy, mental retardation—and also the potential to
produce a vibrant, happy and healthy child. These cells are
spermatozoa, and the women who receive them undergo donor
insemination. This procedure has tremendous potential to impact
the lives of these women, both positively and negatively. That
being the case, one would expect that the testing, record
keeping, and quality control procedures required for donor semen
would be as rigorous and regulated as for any medical test or
device. They are not. There is no official record of births by
donor conception. There are no limits or restrictions on the
qualification of donors. Donor semen is not even tested to
confirm that the sperm used in the insemination actually came
from the donor that the woman selected. Donor conceived children
have no way to access their own personal family medical
history—or any other part of their donor-parent ancestry.

Comprehensive changes in medical practice, health regulation and
legislation are urgently needed. In the meantime, CaBRI is
working to build support for the donor conception community in a number of
ways.

Donor Y Project

Matching donor conceived males with a semen donor. The sons of a semen
donor will all share an identical Y-chromosome with him, and with each other.

Through the Donor Y Project CaBRI will compare the DNA of a donor
conceived male with other DNA samples in our database, searching for a
genetic link between related males. Analysis and comparison of 37 Short
Tandem Repeats (STR markers) on the Y-chromosome of a donor conceived
male and a semen donor can provide evidence of paternity, DNA acquired
from the client can be directly compared with known donors, as well as,
other male clients in our database. Through this process, CaBRI can:

Provide the client with their numerical 37 Y-STR values.

Add this data to the Donor Y-Project database for comparison with other data.

Attempt to match a donor conceived male with a known semen donor.

Attempt to match a donor conceived male with biological half-brothers.

Provide a list of probable surnames for the biological father.

Report any matches directly to the client upon the written consent of all parties.

In addition, Y-STR values can be uploaded into national registries
containing hundreds of thousands of Y-STR sequences, allowing the client
to potentially discover a close relative of the donor, the donor himself,
and/or a general orientation as to deep paternal ancestry (geographic
ancestry). With Y-STR and Haplogroup results obtained from CaBRI, it may
be possible to search other databases for genealogy information.

Our database is continually growing so even if you do not initially
obtain any matches, don’t be discouraged.

Donor X Project

Matching donor conceived females with a semen donor. The daughters of a
semen donor will all share one identical X-chromosome with him, and one
of their two X-chromosomes with each other.

Through the Donor X Project CaBRI will compare the DNA of a donor
conceived female with other DNA samples in our database to identify
genetic relationships. Although an analysis and comparison of STR markers
on the X-chromosome of a donor conceived female can help establish
evidence of strong genetic relationships between individuals,
determining genetic relationships between our female clients is more
difficult than it is for males. Ideally, proper testing using a DNA
sample from the biological mother, a close male relative (such as a
brother), and the donor conceived daughter can help deduce marker
values for the semen donor. Through this process, CaBRI can:

Provide the client with their numerical X-STR values.

Add this data to the Donor X-Project database for comparison with other data.

Attempt to match a donor conceived female with a known semen donor.

Attempt to match a donor conceived female with biological half-siblings.

Report any matches directly to the client upon the written consent of all parties.

Our database is continually growing so even if you do not initially
obtain any matches, don’t be discouraged. Note: No other geneaology
service provides a database of X-chromosomes and their STR values, so
matching with relatives outside CaBRI is not likely.

Donor Participation

If you are a semen donor, we encourage you to join our Donor X and Donor
Y projects. Through these projects, CaBRI analyzes and compares the
STR markers on the X-chromosome of a donor conceived female and the STR
markers on the Y-chromosome of a donor conceived male with those of a
semen donor. This comparison can provide evidence of a strong genetic
relationship between the donor and a biological child. Through this
process, CaBRI can:

Provide you with your X-STR data as numerical values.

Provide you with your Y-STR data as numerical values.

Place this data into the Donor X- and Y-project databases.

Report any matches directly to you upon the written consent of all parties.

Our databases are continually growing so even if you do not initially
obtain any matches, don’t be discouraged.

Testing Semen Samples

Empty Semen Vials

If you have your empty semen vial, there is usually enough residual DNA
remaining to conduct genetic testing. These samples can be used to
obtain direct information regarding both X- and Y-STR values. If a DNA
sample can be acquired, CaBRI can:

Provide the client with their numerical X- and Y-STR values.

Place this data directly into our Donor X- and Y-STR project databases.

Directly correlate these values to any offspring listed in our database.

Report any matches directly to the client upon the written consent of all parties.

Re-test and confirm disease antigens in cases of suspected transmission of communicable disease.

Viable Semen Samples

Although CaBRI can test viable semen samples, this process will
render them non-viable, where they can no longer be used for
artificial insemination procedures.
These samples can be used to obtain direct information regarding both X-
and Y-STR values.

Testing for Half-sibling Relationships

CaBRI testing and analysis allows us to compare the genetic results
within our database in an attempt to establish half-sibling relationships.
Testing for male half-sibling relationships is not difficult, thus, a
comparison of Y-STR values can provide evidence of a genetic relationship
between half-brothers. Although the testing of females is more complex,
we can still use X-STR values to potentially determine half-sibling
relationships between sisters.